Confections are sweet foods. Confections, such as candies and cookies, may be eaten alone. Other confections, including candies, may be incorporated into other foodstuffs, which also typically are confections, as is the case with chocolate chips incorporated into chocolate-chip cookies or glazes or enrobing compositions for candies or baked goods. Chocolate products include a number of products, many of which have defined ingredients, and/or identity standards established by various national or international regulatory bodies. For example, milk chocolate, by definition, has specific ratios of cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, milk or cream and sugar. Other forms of chocolate, such as chocolate, baking chocolate or unsweetened chocolate (cocoa liquor), sweet chocolate, semisweet or bittersweet chocolate and white chocolate also have defined compositions. Many confections, such as chocolate enrobing compositions or glazes, chocolate sauces or chips vary from the definition of chocolate because they contain fats other than cocoa butter. For example, chocolate sauces typically are prepared from vegetable oils and cocoa powder. Dairy fats may also be included and are a natural source of trans fats, albeit in very low concentrations.
Chocolate flavored enrobing compositions, if not a standard-of-identity chocolate variety, typically include cocoa powder or chocolate liquor and a fat or fat blend. A fat or fat blend is selected having a melting profile and melting point well suited for the intended use. For example, if the product is intended for use in coating a baked product, the enrobing composition should have melting properties well suited to the temperatures the end-product is subjected to during handling, storage, transport and serving within its typical distribution/consumption chain. A typical enrobing composition also may be tailored to substantially melt near human body temperature (37° C.) in order to not be considered unappealing and produce a waxy feeling in the mouth. Higher melting temperatures may be desired when a food product is transported, stored or served under warmer conditions, such as transport and consumption in tropical or desert climates, or when used within military rations.
“Trans” fats are isomers of naturally occurring unsaturated fatty acids that may be created during the hydrogenation and partial hydrogenation processes. Recently, however, ingestion of trans fats has been discovered to increase serum cholesterol levels. However, trans fats have been used in processed foods for many years, and many food product formulations contain partially or fully hydrogenated fats. There is therefore a need for fat compositions that can be substituted into currently used food formulations, contain only low levels or are free from trans fats, and have acceptable functional properties including similar melting profile, crystallization characteristics, shelf-life, and mouth-feel. It is particularly desirable to provide to the food industry fat compositions which are sufficiently low in trans fats to allow food manufacturers to display or feature the low trans fat content of their products, such as by a label claim or on the nutritional composition panel.